How can Mediation help when guardianship is being
considered?
Dealing with decisions about personal or financial needs
of a vulnerable person can be complicated and stressful.
Family members may feel overwhelmed by juggling the
needs of an adult relative with the needs of children or
career demands and may feel they have no other options
but to petition for guardianship or consevatorship. At
the same time, the person over whom guardianship is
sought may feel threatened of betrayed because he or she
stands to lose the right to make basic life decisions.
Mediation gives families a chance to discuss their
concerns, explore various options, and find solutions
acceptable to everyone involved.
What kinds of issues can be mediated?
- Health/medical care decisions. Who should
provide the care? What care is needed? Who should
make medical decisions?
- Financial Decisions. How should money be spent?
How should investments be handled? Concerns over
“unwise spending,” etc.
- Living Arrangements. Where? With whom? Who
decides? How much independence/supervision?
- Communication Issues. What information is needed
or missing? How to share information with those who
need it?
- Family Relationship Issues. (New or long-standing) How
should the family deal with sibling rivalries, new
spouse or companion, death of spouse/caregiver,
other changes in relationships?
- Decision making. Who should have authority to
make decisions? What input (if any) should others
have?
- Respite care and support for caregivers.
- Personal, household care and maintenance.
Identify caregivers/service provider. What type of
care/service is needed?
- Safety/risk-taking/autonomy. What safety issues
are identified? Is the level of risk understood and
acceptable? Should autonomy be limited?
- Needs of other family members/caregivers.
Dependent children. Grandparents caring for
grandchildren. Career demands. Reimbursements for
services. Visitation issues.
- Less restrictive alternatives to guardianship.
What alternatives exist? Who should be guardian if
one is needed?
Mediation is extremely beneficial in difficult cases
involving the care of a family member. Frequently,
family conflicts get worse over time with the care
recipient being placed in the middle of the dispute. In
some cases if the problems are not resolved, family
caregivers “give up”, leaving a frail person with fewer
choices for good care. And if the family ends up in
court, the family members can become further polarized.
At First Choice Mediation we believe successful
mediations are the result of family members/parties
coming together with the goals of resolving their
differences. A recent national study of Adult
Guardianship mediation found that 8 out of 10 cases were
successfully resolved and followed through by the
parties.
If the parties cannot reach agreement, and the case was
referred by a court, the case will go back to the court;
the parties lose no legal rights by trying mediation
first. At least they will have had the opportunity to
clarify issues and better understand one another’s
viewpoints with the help of a professional mediator who
is trained in facilitating difficult family
conversations.
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